Eagles Feel Blue After Defeat to Poly's Jays

Patchogue, N.Y.—The St. Joseph's Golden Eagles (6-15, 4-10 SKY) fell to the NYU Polytechnic Fighting Blue Jays (5-14, 2-11 SKY) at home on Saturday 62-58.  The loss put the Eagles behind the eight ball in terms of making the Skyline Conference Tournament as they sit firmly in seventh place with only four games left to be played.

The two seemingly well-matched teams battled it out for the first half, which yielded few points on both sides of the scoreboard.  After tying the game at 11, 13 and 16, Poly finally pulled away with two consecutive three's in the last two minutes of the half, gaining the 26-24 lead at the buzzer.  Cody Lohsen (Centereach, N.Y./ Centereach) led the team in points for the first twenty minutes of the game, sinking two three pointers, two free throws and a field goal.  Phil Calixte (Amityville, N.Y./ Holy Trinity) and Keith Anderson (Central Islip, N.Y./ North Babylon) each contributed six points, helping to both maintain offensive intensity and keep the Eagles in the game. 

The second half proved to be just as tight as the first as the two teams battled back and forth for each and every point in the low scoring game.  The Blue Jays fell into a rhythm with seven minutes left, scoring nine unanswered points and taking their largest lead of the game, 56-46.  The Eagles regained momentum after Poly's rally and, led chiefly by Anderson's seven points, brought the game within three with two minutes to spare.  Lohsen's two made free throws at 1:34 made it a one-point game and gave the crowd something to cheer for.

The point-for-point final minute ended in favor of Poly; their last couple free throws cinching the game for them as the final seconds dwindled.

SJC's Anderson had a game-high 16 points in addition to his ten rebounds; Lohsen was close behind with 12 points and eight rebounds.  Evan Mohammad (Bayside, N.Y./ Holy Cross) contributed with eleven points while Calixte finished with nine points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.  As a team, the Eagles shot 31.7% from the field and 82.4% from the free throw line.

The Golden Eagles will travel to Farmingdale on Wednesday in an attempt to capture their fourth conference win against Farmingdale State. They will return home on Saturday to face Sage in a 5:15 p.m. contest.